Magnus Rises To Meet Challenge

The Age

Friday March 21, 2008

Tony Bourke

THERE is a lot to be said about being in the right place at the right time but for the very smart sprinter Magnus, the right time has involved running up against the wrong horses.

Although having to contend with the likes of Miss Andretti, Gold Edition, Undue, Apache Cat and, more recently, Weekend Hussler, could be considered soul-destroying, Magnus keeps coming up for more and trainer Peter Moody reckons the five-year-old is in career-best form.

His one respite from the above-mentioned talent came in the Inglis Galaxy, run last autumn at Warwick Farm, which resulted in his first group 1 success, and he has the chance to repeat the performance in this year's Galaxy, to be run at Randwick tomorrow.

Magnus carried 54.5 kilograms last year and goes up to 57 tomorrow but the only other group 1 winner in the field is topweight Bentley Biscuit, who finished fourth in last year's Galaxy.

Moody was happy enough with Magnus' weight but there "are a couple down the bottom that go all right", referring to the fillies Hurried Choice (51) and Gamble Me (50).

He said a win tomorrow could earn Magnus another trip to Royal Ascot for the King's Stand Stakes, in which he finished third behind Miss Andretti and Dandy Man (Takeover Target was fourth) last year.

Magnus was unplaced but not disgraced at his two other runs in England and, after being caught up in equine influenza restrictions coming back to Australia, his autumn preparation got off to a slow start.

He finished seventh, less than three lengths behind Apache Cat in the Lightning Stakes at Flemington before chasing home Weekend Hussler in the Oakleigh Plate and Newmarket Handicap.

One of the aims of taking Magnus overseas last year was to try and attract international interest in the Flying Spur entire and the owners, who now include the Yallambee Stud syndicate and Eliza Park syndicate along with his co-breeder Robert Crabtree, are keen to have another crack.

Damien Oliver, who won the Galaxy on Magnus last year, agrees with Moody that the horse is going as well as ever.

Magnus, who is out of the Snippets mare Scandinavia, will join the ranks of Eliza Park stallions next season.

Oliver's other Randwick rides include Divine Madonna, who resumes in the Liverpool City Cup (1300 metres), and Casino Prince in the group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600 metres).

The Chipping Norton is now a far more open race, with news that favourite Racing To Win has a sprained joint and will not run.

Trainer John O'Shea hopes Racing To Win might be able to start later in the Sydney carnival.

The Lee Freedman-trained Sugar Babe has drawn the outside barrier in Monday's Magic Millions Two-Year-Old Classic (1200 metres) on the Gold Coast.

Sugar Babe has barrier 21 in the capacity field, which includes five emergencies, and will come out of gate 16.

© 2008 The Age

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